1. Field of Endeavor
The present disclosure relates to the cleaning of the bolt used in semi-automatic and fully automatic rifle variants such as those rifles styled after the direct gas impingement of the AR-15 or M-16 rifle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The function of the AR-15/M-16 rifle and its variants utilizes a method of direct gas impingement where the expended gas of a fired cartridge is captured and funneled back into the rifle to complete the cycle of operation. By doing so, gas is directed onto the bolt tail where carbon from the gas accumulates. This carbon builds as the rifle is repeatedly tired and can cause stoppages and malfunctions within the rifle and the cycle of operation if not cleaned from the bolt tail.
Other methods for cleaning this carbon from the bolt tail are generally ineffective, time consuming and laborious, and include wiping with a cloth, the use of chemical solvents, scraping with non-specific tools such as screwdrivers, knives, dental picks, and expended cartridge casings. Further, none of these methods completely remove the carbon from the bolt tail.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,644,529 B2 to Hopper et al. issued Jan. 12, 2010 describes a simplified tool that scrapes a portion of the carbon off the rifle bolt tail, but does not completely remove the carbon from the rifle bolt tail or assist in the continued maintenance and future cleanings by removing all of the carbon from the rifle bolt tail thus limiting the carbon build up